Freddy Fest brought joy to the APU community this past Thursday.
There is a time when you want to feel stress-free from all of your problems, especially around the corner of finals week. Studying and catching up on last-minute research papers is not a fun thing to do during dead week and finals. I can attest to this experience due to my habit of procrastinating and waiting until the last minute to cram all of the last assignments that are due during the last two weeks of the semester.
As always, there is a bit of hope that amidst this conundrum we as students are facing in terms of school work, our Office of Campus Life tries to set an event so that we can enjoy ourselves while our studies are in the last stages of being concluded.
For this particular event, Campus Life has collaborated with the Office of Residence Life and the Office of Commuter Life to host a first-time event that set the stage for turning the APU outdoor area into a fair. The event was called Freddy Fest, located on the Campus Life Lawn.
Photo courtesy of Juan Vilchez
Freddy Fest had the vibe of a small amusement park. It offered games and rides, such as archery tag, a hard rock wall, a “Pirates Revenge” carnival ride, a tricycle racetrack, and a dunk tank. It was fun to experience the noise of students’ enthusiastic screams and laughter that portrayed their excitement throughout the event.
As for me, I had a good time enjoying myself by being present throughout the event and relieving the stress of schoolwork, at least for a moment. Some faculty and staff along with their children were in attendance as well.
My favorite part of the event was the carnival ride. I got to experience the ride at a time that I thought there were no fun activities to do since I do not have eyesight. Most of the activities mentioned above were visually orientated. The carnival ride was just your average carousel. The experience felt like I was in a swing of sorts. This ride’s ability to swing you back and forth at a fast pace was pretty scary, but at the same time, it was fun to enjoy.
The fest also had some food to eat as well. The type of food and drinks were nachos, popcorn, ice cream, cotton candy, and various soft drink options for all students. I only grabbed a soft drink that consisted of a strawberry Fanta.
Photo courtesy of Juan Vilchez
I also enjoy the music at the event, which was provided by the music department. Having music playing in the background at the fair was quite relaxing, especially at the end of the school year.
As a result of enjoying this event myself, I can say for certain that some students in my surroundings enjoyed the Freddy Fest as well. Ala Mikaele stated that he enjoyed the event so much and that he loved the idea that APU did its best to suit the place with joy. “The fair for me was an incredibly fun experience, and I absolutely enjoyed the event and food that they had. I took advantage of most of what they had to offer,” Mikaele said.
This event was possible through the work of Alex Oh, the director of campus life at APU. Oh was mostly in charge of setting up this event. He stated that he enjoyed the fact that a lot of students showed up and that it was an honor to help the APU community finish the year with a fun fair in which everyone could participate.
“It was a blast working at Freddy Fest! It was so great to see students smiling and having a great time. I hope it was a fun study break amid dead week and finals week around the corner,” Oh said.
Photo courtesy of Juan Vilchez